


Post Breakup

by LindseyintheSkywithDiamonds



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Ben Solo: Major Asshole, Ben is a total mamas boy, Ben is sad, Break Up, Everything Hurts, F/M, Good Guy Poe, Kylo Ren: Karate Master, M/M, Rey can't bake, Rey is sad, Sex and the City vibes, You broke up with me on a post-it?, everyone is sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-23 16:45:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10723275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LindseyintheSkywithDiamonds/pseuds/LindseyintheSkywithDiamonds
Summary: Ben Solo is an asshole and Rey has had it. After a particularly bad fight, he comes home to an empty apartment. Now he has to find a way to get her back or learn to live without her.****Previously called Unsteady, now edited and restructured***





	1. The Note

Ben Solo is an asshole.

This wasn't news, of course; he had always been an asshole. When Ben was born he was lucky enough to inherit the worst bits of his parents personalities, his mothers arrogance and his fathers cutting tongue, in particular. The quick temper came from both.

But the past week had revealed a particularly evil part of himself that even surprised him. He had thought that the lovely "mean for the sake of being mean" trait had been left behind in adolescence, like a snake shedding his skin. Apparently some things can't be unlearned.

It was due to his recent rendition of _How to Be the Biggest Jerk in the Galaxy_ that he made sure to arrive home that night, on time for once, bouquet of flowers in hand. It was time that he acted like a man and talked to his girlfriend.

As he approached the door to their apartment he placed the flowers under on arm, careful not to crush the delicate stems, and reached into his leather messenger for his key ring. He allowed himself a brief pause to gather a shred of courage and then pushed his key into the lock, unlocking and opening the front door to a dark and quiet apartment.

"Babe?" he called out as he entered their apartment, receiving no answer. 

Rey was the day to his night. She was sunshine and open windows, singing off key to Mr. Brightside, every light turned on and a Warm Vanilla Sugar candle burning on the coffee table. Rey was music and bright shining light, laughter and warmth.

For Ben, Rey was home.

  
He felt the usual sting of disappointment that he felt every time he walked into a room and she wasn't there. Even though they had barely spoken a word to each other in a week and she was pissed at him, having Rey close by but ignoring him was far preferable to being away from her. 

She made everything better. God, he loved her. He needed to fix this tonight.

 _But this is good,_ he told himself. Now he had a chance to shower, drink a beer, and try to figure out exactly what he was going to say to that beautiful girl.

He dropped the flowers and his keys on the table by door, hung up his bag, and then pulled out his wallet and cellphone, placing them with the keys and flowers. As he made his way towards the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge he made sure to flip each light switch; Rey liked them on.

Twenty minutes later Ben exited their bedroom in jeans and a black T-shirt, feet bare and hair wet, and felt better than he had in a week because he had a plan.

First, he was going to grovel and apologize until he lost his voice, then he was going to take Rey out to an expensive dinner at her favorite restaurant. Hopefully everything would go smoothly and they would come home and have make up sex. It felt like a lifetime since he last touched her and he missed her so much.

  
But that wasn't all he had planned during his shower. He was going to take her somewhere for the weekend. They had both been so stressed lately, him with the business merger that would finally get him out from beneath the thumb of his vindictive boss, Mr. Snoke, her from her full course load and looming finals. They both needed a break to relax. But even more than that, he wanted, no, needed, to spend some uninterrupted time with his girlfriend. He needed to remind himself what all of this was for.

  
How he was going to manage getting away for two uninterrupted days was a problem yet to be solved. He would probably have to go into work even earlier and stay later for the rest of the week. Maybe he could call in a favor from one of his coworkers; Hux was useless, but Phasma could be bought with Godiva chocolate and expensive wine. Perhaps she would cover for him if something were to happen… He would figure it out. Whatever it took. They needed this time together. He would make it happen.  
Maybe he should tell Rey about Mexico tonight, he mused. He had already planned on taking them on a long vacation when the merger was complete and she had finished her finals. He had wanted it to be a surprise, but maybe the idea of warm sand and tropical drinks would distract her and make her forget about how much of a bastard he had been.

  
He made his way back to the kitchen, depositing his now empty bottle in the trash and grabbing another beer from the fridge. Where was Rey? It wasn’t like her to be gone this long without giving him a heads up.

  
She probably thought you would be at work all night, he thought. She’s probably just with Finn or Jessika because she didn’t want to be stuck at home alone.

 _Yeah, that’s definitely it_ , he assured himself.                                       

  
Beer in hand, he shuffled back to the front of the apartment to retrieve his cellphone from its spot on the table by the door. A quick scan revealed that he had no missed calls or messages from her; he quickly sent her a message.

**Hey babe when are you going to be home? We really need to talk about what happened. Love you.**

He starred at the screen from a moment, waiting for the little notification that she had read his message. When it didn’t immediately pop up, he assumed that meant she was driving. His girl was addicted to her cellphone, always scrolling through Tumblr and Facebook or texting her friends. The only time Rey didn’t have her phone in her hand was when she was sleeping or behind the wheel.

  
_Good, that means she’ll be home soon_ , Ben thought. He was anxious and excited to see her lovely face, to tell her how sorry he was and beg her to forgive him. He wanted this stupid fight to be behind them already. He wanted to kiss her, touch her, fuck her. He wanted to hear her call him an asshole and tell him that she forgave him anyway. He wanted to hear her tell him that she still loved him.               

  
He pocketed his cellphone and scooped up the flowers that he had purchased after leaving work. He would clean them up and put them in water while he waited for Rey to return. He carried them back to the kitchen and got to work, carefully cutting each stem at an angle, like his mother had taught him so many years ago, and placing them in their lone vase with cool water and the little packet of plant food that came tied up in the bundle.

  
When he finished and cleaned up the mess, he picked up the vase and carried it with him to the living room. He wanted it to put it on the coffee table so the flowers would be the first thing Rey saw when she came in. She loved flowers.  
He should buy them for her more often, not just when he acted like a dick, he thought.

  
As soon as he neared the coffee table, he spotted a little pink Post-it Note filled with writing. He knew she must have left a note somewhere, she always left a note.

  
He placed the vase on the table and picked up the piece of paper, quickly reading the words that appeared to have been scribbled in a rush.  
In a moment his heart stopped beating, the blood turned to ice in his veins, his vision blurred. He could see nothing but that vile little pink Post-it Note held between two numb fingers.

 **  
** _**I can’t do this anymore.**_  
 _ **I’m sorry.**_  
 _ **Please don’t hate me.**_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm am a voracious reader and an occasional writer. 
> 
> I'm trying to rip your heart out here. Let me know if it worked. 
> 
> Comments make my day.


	2. The Day She Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She doesn’t want to see you right now, Ben. Just go home and calm down,” Poe said calmly.
> 
> Like hell he would.

Ben was a raging storm as he raced the twelve blocks to Poe and Finn’s apartment, anger and panic churning in his stomach like poison.

_  
What the fuck is she doing? How could she just leave me like that? No, she’s not leaving. No fucking way. I’ll fucking carry her back if I have to._

  
Finally reaching their building, he jabbed the intercom button with one finger, breath coming out in heavy pants while he waited for an answer.

  
After a moment that felt like an eternity, the staticky voice of his friend came through the tiny speaker.

  
“Yes?”

  
“Is she here?” he demanded at once.

  
“Ben, she doesn’t-”

  
Wrong answer. Ben jabbed the speaker button again, cutting him off with a growl, “Is she fucking here, Poe?”

  
A long moment later Poe spoke again, his voice low and resigned, “Yeah, man, she’s here.”

  
Ben snarled and slapped his open palm against the brick wall over the intercom. He knew he needed to calm down because nothing good would come from him lashing out in anger, but his panic and the adrenaline pumping through his blood had him seeing red. He needed to see Rey. Now.

  
“Tell her to come down,” he snapped.

  
“She doesn’t want to see you right now, Ben. Just go home and calm down,” Poe said calmly.

Like hell he would.

  
“Fuck!” Ben screamed, violently startling the two women walking past on the side walk. Giving up on using the intercom, he marched away from the building until he was far enough away to see the third floor and Finn and Poe’s living room window.

  
“Rey!” he bellowed, “I’m not fucking leaving until you come down!” He stalked up and down the sidewalk like a caged tiger, continuing his tirade, oblivious to the spectacle he was making. At last, the door to the building swung open and a frazzled Rey emerged and rushed up to him.

  
“What the hell, Ben? You’re going to get yourself arrested!” she snapped.

  
“Who give a shit? Did you really think you could break up with me on a fucking Post-It and then just run away? Why Rey?” he fumed.

  
“Because I wanted to avoid this!” she cried, throwing her hands in the air, “I don’t want to fight with you.”

  
At her admission he closed the remaining distance between them and gripped her shoulders in his shaking hands. “Then don’t do this. I love you. Please come home with me. Please.”

  
Tears leaked from her eyes and she shook her head, pushing against his chest and trying to escape his grasp. “No, Ben. I can’t,” she protested.

  
“Yes, you can,” he insisted, yanking her struggling form to him, trapping her in his arms, “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. I’m a fucking idiot and an asshole. I was scared. I should’ve been there. Please forgive me,” he pleaded.

His words were ignored as she continued to try to break free of his hold. “Let me go, Ben!”

  
“No! We’re not done yet, Rey! You’re coming home with me,” he tried to state firmly around the lump in his throat.

  
“No, I’m not. I can’t do this anymore. We don’t want the same things,” she sobbed.

  
“Yes, we do!”

  
“No, we don’t! I want a family, Ben, you know that! And you freaked out when I told you I was pregnant,” she cried bitterly.

  
“I know! I’m a fucking asshole, Rey! I know! I was scared!” he said, desperate for her to understand. He had to make her understand because he felt like his heart was breaking.

  
“You were scared?” she mocked, “I was scared! I don’t have a mom or a sister or anyone to talk to about this stuff! I just had you and you fucking acted like I was trying to trap you! Well, I’m not going to do that, Ben. I’m not going to be that girl who gets pregnant for her boyfriend won’t leave her.”

  
“I didn’t think you were trying to trap me! I wanted to marry you first! But I don’t care anymore, we can have as many fucking kids as you want, we can start right now, but you’re not leaving me,” he announced, cupping her face in his hands and pressing his lips against her wet cheeks, then her eyelids, and finally her lips. With a sob, she clutched his shirt in her fists and pulled herself closer to him so she could deepen the kiss. Unfortunately her actions didn’t bring any relief to his aching chest.

  
Her kiss didn’t feel like forgiveness; it felt like goodbye.

  
Eventually she pulled her face from his, but only to place it against his chest. Ben wrapped his arms around her as tight as he could without hurting. Maybe if he held on tight enough she wouldn't leave.

"Please come home with me," he whispered against her hair, "I love you so much, Rey. Let me fix this."

She let out a choking sob and whispered "I'm sorry" before pulling away from him and rushing to Finn. In the next moment Poe was standing in front of him with his hands against his shoulders, presumably to hold him back if he tried to pursue her.

_Move! Stop her! Throw her over your shoulder and take her home! Don't let her get away._

Every instinct screamed at him to move, but Ben was rooted to the spot as he watched the love of his life disappear into the apartment building.

She left him.

She actually left him.

Ben was vaguely aware that Poe was speaking to him, but he may have been speaking Mandarin for all Ben heard. He finally managed to chase away the one good thing in his life.

Without a word, he turned from his friend and walked away. He felt numb and cold.

He felt like he lost his sunshine.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm am a voracious reader and an occasional writer. 
> 
> I'm trying to rip your heart out here. Let me know if it worked. 
> 
> Comments make my day.


	3. The Fight / The Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He really should stop talking. He couldn’t stop though, because the dark, vicious part of him, that snarling beast that he always kept on a short leash, had broken free. 
> 
> And it was out for blood.

_** One Week Before She Left ** _

 

 

“How could you let this happen, Rey? Jesus Christ!” he yelled, turning his back to the shocked woman sitting on the couch and stalking away.

_Calm down_ , he told himself. _This isn’t how you’re supposed to react._

The blood pounded in his ears and for a moment his vision blurred, distorting the space around him. He ran a shaking palm over his face and up into his hair, grabbing a fistful and giving a sharp tug at the root.

“I believe you had a hand in creating this situation as well, Ben,” she said coolly, her face a mask of stone. While her boyfriend frantically paced back and forth between their kitchen and living room, Rey remained seated on the couch, exuding an air of calm composure. The only indicator that she was having a reaction at all was the white knuckled grip around the at-home pregnancy test in her right hand.

Ben stopped mid-stride and whipped around without pause, an impressive feat for someone of his build. “You were supposed to be on the pill,” he snapped, jabbing an accusing finger towards her with one hand, the other in a fist at his side.

“And I was. Yet this-” she lifted the hand still clutching the pregnancy test and made a pronounced gesture with it, “-still happened. If you believe you would make a better job of it, perhaps you would care to handle the birth control going forward?”

Her falsely pleasant tone made Ben’s ire spike. “Maybe I should. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to let you get pregnant,” he sneered.

His thinly veiled insult shattered her stoney facade. Narrowing her eyes, Rey growled, “I think you need to stop before you say something you’ll regret later, Ben.”

The sensible part of Ben’s mind agreed; he **really** should stop talking. He couldn’t stop though, because the dark, vicious part of him, that snarling beast that he always kept on a short leash, had broken free. And it was out for blood.

“Yeah, I can think of a few things I regret right about now,” he mused evilly, “Just tell me this: did you do this on purpose? Are you so desperate for a family that you couldn’t even wait until you finished school to get pregnant?”

Rey’s mouth fell open in shock and her eyes welled up with hot, burning tears. She looked like she had been slapped; she almost wished she had been. Surely a physical blow wouldn’t have hurt as much as Ben’s cutting words, so casually thrown in her face.

“You are such a fucking asshole,” she whispered around the lump in her throat. Loath for him to witness her tears, Rey briskly stood from the couch and stormed out of the room.

“Well, you better get used to it sweetheart because you’re fucking stuck with me now!” he shouted at her retreating form. Her response was a slammed bedroom door.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_ **Three Days After She Left** _

 

 

Ben sprung up, startled awake from a fitful sleep by a loud banging noise. He scanned the dark room for the culprit until the sleep-induced fog lifted from his mind and he realized it was coming from the front door. Having no intention of answering the door, he fell back with a grunt.

“ _Go away,_ ” he groaned and yanked the blanket over his head to muffle the offensive noise.

He was not answering that door. With any luck whoever was outside his door would get the hint soon and leave.

“Solo, I know you’re in there! Open the damn door,” a man called from outside while continuing his incessant knocking.

“Fuck,” Ben grumbled as he stood from his nest of pillows and blankets, formerly known as a couch, and dragged himself to the door. He knew that voice and he knew that he wouldn’t be able get rid of him that easily.

“What do you want, Poe?” he immediately asked the unwelcome visitor as he opened the door, forgoing a greeting. The sooner he could get rid of Poe, the better.

“Good to see you, too buddy,” Poe quipped with a pat on the shoulder as he quickly sidestepped the larger man, effectively forcing his way into the dark apartment before Ben had a chance to react. “Didn’t realize you lived in a dungeon. Jesus, it’s dark in here.” With clenched teeth, Ben closed the door and followed the man into his living room.

For longer than Ben could remember he had called Poe Dameron his best friend. But looking at the two, one would not straightaway assume they were friends. Poe is a suave, handsome Latino, a white toothed grin in a leather jacket. He was the quarterback on their high school football team, the kind of guy who flirted with your grandma and cracked a joke with your grandpa, and everyones friend.

Basically, he was Ben’s complete opposite.

But theirs was a bond forged in diapers. They learned to ride bikes together when they were five, choked on their first cigarettes together behind Ben’s garage when they were twelve, and drank their first beers together when they were sixteen. No, they may not be similar men, but Poe was the Maverick to Ben’s Goose, the Kevin Arnold to his Paul Pfeiffer, and they were in it for the long haul. If there was anyone who would give it to Ben straight, it was Poe.

“You know, after all these years you would think that I would be used to your melodramatic shit, but you never cease to surprise me, Solo,” Poe casually commented as he walked to the window, throwing back the drapes and raising the blinds. Bright sunlight filled the room, revealing a mess of empty beer bottles and food delivery boxes. “Ay, Dios mío, this placed is trashed!”

“If you’re just here to give me shit, you can go. I’m not in the mood,” Ben growled, throwing himself back on the couch.

“As much fun as that sounds, I was sent here for a purpose. Rey is worried about you and wanted me to check on you. Your secretary called her and told her you haven’t been to work in a few days.”

Hearing her name so soon was like salt in an open wound. Gritting his teeth to fight back the welling emotion, Ben shrugged and grumbled, “Yeah? Why does she even care? She broke up with me.”

“Hey moron, she’s pissed at you and needed a break; she didn’t stop loving you,” Poe stressed, “But sitting here, feeling sorry for yourself and skipping enough work that your secretary has to call her to make sure you didn’t die isn’t going to make her forgive you any faster.”

“Fuck off, Poe. I don’t need your shit right now,” Ben snapped petulantly, crossing his arms across his chest.

With a sigh, Poe sank down next to his friend, “Listen, she’s upset and angry, but she’s going to forgive you. You just have to give her some time. But you can not just stop going to work. You’ve put too much work into that merger to quit now.” Poe waited a moment for Ben to say something in reply before rolling his eyes and turning away.

_I forgot I’m dealing with a twelve year old_ , he mussed.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a slip of pink paper on the coffee table, carefully situated out of the way of the other garbage littering the table.

“Is that the infamous Post-It?” he asked with a grin, snatching it off of the table before Ben could stop him. Poe studied the paper, noting the faded wrinkles, like it was painstakingly flatted out after being balled up in a fist. He would confidently bet his last dollar that his friend had retrieved it from the trash just to torture himself.  “Wow, I can tell she really put a lot of thought into this.”

“Don’t,” Ben growled in warning.

“I mean she could’ve written it on the back of a receipt or maybe a piece of junk mail. The Post-It makes it look like she really tried,” Poe teased.

“Fuck you.”

“Sorry, buddy. You’re not my type.”


	4. The First Time

_**Seven Months Before She Left** _

 

 

They had been dating for six month before Ben brought Rey home to meet his family. She had mentioned wanting to meet his parents a few times, but Ben had always changed the subject or made excuses. One weekend he really needed to finish a project before Monday, another his mother was visiting her cousin out of town. His dad had a cold, the forecast said it was supposed to snow, so they shouldn’t drive, and so on. Once, he even said that his parents were re-leveling their driveway and couldn’t leave the house.

Eventually Rey began to lose hope that he would ever bring her home. Though occasionally she would still bring it up, just to see what excuse he would think up this time. She joked that he must have a notebook somewhere filled with ready made excuses. They couldn’t leave because they were re-leveling the driveway? Honestly.

Despite the outlandishness of some of his claims, Rey knew there was truth in each one. Ben was an honest man, sometimes to a fault; he may exaggerate a truth to better suit him, but he wouldn’t outright lie to her. So she never pushed the subject. She would accept his excuses, maybe make a joke or two about it late, but then drop it entirely. She chose to chalk it up to it timing and circumstance and ignore her nagging doubt that he didn’t _want_ her to meet his parents.

In the end it was Finn who broached the subject for her.

It was a Wednesday night and the two couples were at a cheap Mexican restaurant, drinking half priced margaritas and sharing a basket of over salted chips. Poe assured them that the food was good enough to overlook the vaguely racist murals adorning the wall.

“So Rey, are you nervous about meeting Ben’s parents this weekend?” Finn asked as he scooped up some salsa with a tortilla chip.

Rey had been taking a sip of her strawberry margarita and promptly began to choke. Coughing into her fist to clear her throat, she hesitantly said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was meeting his parents this weekend." It came out sounding like a question. 

“Yeah, his parents throw a huge party for Memorial Day every year,” Poe supplied nonchalantly as he lifted a forkful of food to his mouth before hesitating and turning his attention to Ben. “You are going, right?”

“I hadn’t planned on it, no,” Ben said in a forced casual tone.

Rey could feel him begin to bounce his leg from where their thighs touched beneath the booth. He could pretend to be calm all he wanted; this nervous tick gave him away.

“Why not?” Poe demanded, “You’ve been dating for months. Don’t you want her to meet them?” Rey knew she should say something to defuse the situation, maybe point out that they were talking about her like she wasn’t sitting right there. She stayed quiet; she wanted to know, too.

“What? Of course I want her to meet my parents-or mom at least,” he defended, “it's Han, I don’t want to deal with.”

“Who’s Han?” Finn asked through a mouth full of enchiladas.

“His dad,” Poe replied, “they don’t get along.”

Ben grunted and stabbed at a pepper on his place, mumbling, “He’s a pain in the ass.”

Even though Rey really did want to go, she didn’t like how Poe had put him on the spot. He should want to take her, not feel obligated to do so. To gain his attention, Rey laid a hand on his still bouncing thigh and leaned towards him. When his eyes met her she quietly said, “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. It’s fine.”

For a long moment he just gazed at her with an almost quizzical look on his face. Rey was certain that he was about to take her up on her offer, when suddenly he grabbed snatched her hand from his thigh and leaned forward, theatrically and repeatedly pressing kisses all over her face, neck, and upper chest, each with a loud ‘mwah!’.

Leaving her giggling beside him, Ben pulled back only to wrap one of his long arms around her waist and drag her across the seat and onto his lap. “Nope, not a chance, sweetheart. You’re coming home with me so I can show you off,” he declared, “just ... please ignore my dad.”

 

~*~

 

On the day of the party Ben arrived at Rey’s apartment and was shocked by what he found. Her usually tidy kitchen was a train wreck; the counters were coated in a layer flour, the sink was overflowing dirty bowls and utensils, and there was an upside down tray of cupcakes forgotten on the floor.

“Whoa, did a bomb go off?” he joked, stepping into the small kitchen to get a closer look. There was something blue splatters on the cabinets and ceiling.

“I didn’t want to show up empty handed, so I got up at six this morning to bake cupcakes. It was a complete and total disaster. I’ve never baked before!” she lamented, rushing forward the slap his hands away from the Tupperware box he had just found. She pushed the box behind her on the counter and said, “Get out of those! I only managed to get ten decent cupcakes out of four dozen.”

“I just want one,” he bargained, still trying to reach around her to grab the box.

“No, Ben!” she giggled, pushing it further out of his reach, “You can have one later, I promise.”

“Fine,” he reluctantly agreed with a heavy sigh, turning his focus from the denied treats to the woman pressed between his body and the kitchen counter. “You look pretty.”

Rey had left her hair down for once, the soft brown waves brushing her bare shoulders. Ben didn’t know anything about makeup, but he liked the red lipstick, (or lipgloss, whatever), she put on her lips. He also really liked the dress she wore, a white one with red and purple flowers that tied around her neck, leaving her shoulders and the top of her back bare.

“I like this dress,” he murmured, lightly trailing a finger down the edge of the fabric over her collarbone, his other hand coming to her thigh and sneaking upwards towards her ass. Nudging the hair away from her neck with his nose, he began to lick and suck on the exposed skin.

“Ben... We can’t do this now, we’ll be late,” she insisted in a breathy voice, ignoring her own protests by tilting her head to the side so he had better access to her neck.

“I don’t care. Are you wearing a bra?” he asked, trying to sneak a finger under the fabric covering her chest to find out for himself.

His lewd question brought her out of the moment. Giggling and pushing against his chest with both hands so he would more back, she said, “Be good and you’ll find out later. Let me put on some shoes and we can go.”

Watching her disappear down the hallway towards her bedroom, Ben raked a hand through her hair.

 _Damn. It’s gonna be a long day._  

 

~*~

 

The car ride to his parents house was mostly spent in silence. Though neither said anything, they were both nervous. Rey had never been ‘brought home to meet the parents’ before. She couldn’t help but worry that his parents wouldn’t like her or that she would embarrass herself somehow. Ben was anxious about the many ways his family could (and probably would) embarrass him.

The house they pulled up to was somehow exactly what Rey had imagined and completely opposite. It was an attractive light grey, two story house, with white shutters and flower boxes outside of the windows. There was a porch swing with pillows, flowers running up the sides of the driveway, and an American flag displayed proudly on the front of the porch.

 _This is where brooding, angsty Ben grew up? The place looked like it came out of Better Homes and Gardens_ , Rey thought and laughed.

Ben looked at her with an eyebrow raised in question, prompting her to say, “Nice driveway.”

She laughed again at the blush that stained his cheeks.

The couple walked hand in hand up to the house, pausing just outside the front door. Ben looked down at her and asked, “You ready for this?”

The cheerful sounds of music and people talking flowed out of the open window and the familiar smell of a barbecue pit wafted from the backyard. This was it. They were here. She was finally going to see where he came from, finally going to meet the people who raised this loud, crazy, brash, sweet, wonderful man that she was falling in love with. Excitement bubbled up in her stomach, eating away at the nervousness she had been feeling. Smiling up at him, she nodded, “Ready.”

With a quick squeeze to her hand, he pushed open the door and ushered her inside. The inside of the house was just as lovely as the exterior, tastefully decorated and welcoming. Rey loved it. The door hadn’t swung shut behind them before Ben bellowed, “Mommy, I’m home!”

“Would you please stop calling your mom ‘Mommy’? That’s so weird,” Rey whispered, lightly pinching him on the stomach; Ben just grinned.

From somewhere further in the house a woman’s voice yelled, “Han, they’re here!” Not a moment later, the smiling figure of Leia Organa-Solo rushed down the hall towards her son. Ben let go of Rey’s hand to hug his mother, obnoxiously standing to his full height and lifting his diminutive mother off of the ground.

Watching the sweet exchange, Rey had a moment to take in Ben’s mother. Her first reaction was shock over how tiny Leia is. _How on Earth did a woman that small produce a monster like Ben?_ Once her initial shock abated, Rey noticed Leia’s perfectly neat appearance, not a single hair out of place. Rey was sure she had never looked have as put together in her life.

Before Ben could put his mother back on her feet a handsome older man in a blue buttoned up shirt and jeans turned the corner and walked towards them. “Hey moofmilker, put your mom down before you drop her,” he called as he approached. Ben gently set his mother back down the man moved to stand behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Dad,” Ben said gruffly, his only word of greeting, before stepping back to Rey and placing a hand on her shoulder, mimicking his father the way his father stood behind his mother. Rey wondered if he realized he did it.

Family reunion over, the spotlight shifted to Rey. A wide grin was spread across Leia’s face; Han regarded the pair with a dubious expression, like he was trying to figure something out. “Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Rey,” Ben introduced, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles on her shoulder.

Leia was the first to react, stepping forward and affectionately taking Rey’s free hand in both of hers, “We’re so glad you could come. Ben has told me so much about you!” she gushed.

“He has, has he?” she said cheekily.

“Well, no, not really,” Leia admitted with a teasing grin, “but Poe has. He and his boyfriend have been here for about an hour.” Leia began to say something else when she suddenly was cut off by Han blurting, “You pregnant, kid?”

His blunt question was immediately met with outrage by Ben and Leia crying “Jesus Christ, Dad!” and “Han Solo!”.

“What? It’s an honest question,” he exclaimed, hands raised before him in surrender, “The first time the kid brings home a girl in thirty years. I was starting to think he was going to show up and tell us he was making an honest man out of Poe. Not that I would mind-he would be the prettiest daughter I never had.”

Ben let out a very loud and very long groan, leaving Rey to answer his father’s ‘honest question’ with a nervous laugh and a “No, not pregnant.”

Turning to her much taller husband, Leia raised a pointed finger and sternly said, “I told you to behave.”

“Don’t act like you weren’t wondering the same thing,” he grumbled.

“Ben, why don’t you go get Rey something to drink and put those in the kitchen?” Leia instructed, referring to the Tupperware container of cupcakes Rey was holding. Surprisingly, he did as he was told without question, taking the box from Rey and planting a kiss on her cheek before taking off in the direction that his parents had appeared from.

_Huh. Ben Solo was an absolute mama’s boy. Who would’ve guessed?_

With her son gone, Leia turned on husband, pointedly saying, “Isn’t it time for you to start the barbecue?”

“Alright, fine. I know when I’m not wanted,” Han groused as he turned and followed his son. In the distance Rey heard him call, “Hey Kylo Ren, your girl’s cute.”

Ben yelled something rude.

Half sighing, half laughing, Leia turned to Rey and simply said, “Ignore them.”

“Who’s Kylo Ren?” Rey asked with a grin, prompting Leia to laugh.

“Oh, that’s a funny story! When Ben was fourteen Han and I made him spend part of the summer with my brother, helping instruct Luke’s karate camp. He was so mad at us that he said we weren’t his parents and everyone had to call him Kylo Ren from now on. Han has never let him live it down. Now come with me, I have a lot of people who want to meet you.”

 

~*~

 

The sun was going down by the time Rey finally made her way back to Ben’s side. The amount of people that the Solo’s had invited to their party was staggering and they all seemed to have known Ben since he was a baby. Everyone wanted to know who she was, how they met, and what she did. In return, she was told silly stories about his childhood and shown many pictures. She loved every minute.

She found him on the porch swing in the front of the house. Sitting down beside him with her legs tucked beneath her, she leaned into his side as she said, “So I was just talking to your uncle Luke...”

“Oh yeah? About what?” he said absentmindedly as he rubbed the skin on her arm.

“Mhmm,” she replied, “he told me I could join one of his beginner karate classes. That is if I don’t mind learning with a group of young children.”

He scoffed, “If you want to learn I can be your teacher.”

Biting her lip to keep from laughing, she said, “I don’t know... I don’t think I could handle Kylo Ren.”

He gasped before loudly saying, “Traitor!” It came out louder than he intended causing Han to yell from inside the house, “Ben, knock it off!” Unable to contain herself any longer, she buried her face in his shirt and laughed until there were tears in her eyes.

Once she was able to speak without bursting into fit of laughter, she grabbed his free hand a placed a soft kiss against his palm. “Thank you for bringing me here today, Ben. I know you don’t really get along with your parents and you didn’t want to come, but I’m really happy that we did,” taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she whispered, “I love you.”

She felt his chest tense beneath her cheek and the fingers trailing up and down her arm halted. After a torturously long moment of silence, she winced and tilted her head to meet his eyes. On his face was one of the rarely seen toothy grins.

“I love you, too.”

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm am a voracious reader and an occasional writer. 
> 
> I'm trying to rip your heart out here. Let me know if it worked. 
> 
> Comments make my day.


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